Apparo’s Tech Therapy® assists Care Ring to secure Microsoft nonprofit licensing and reinvest savings into community impact.

Care Ring is dedicated to providing health services for the uninsured, underinsured or those lacking access to affordable, high-quality preventive health care. The organization annually serves more than 7,600 people in Mecklenburg County and is a leader in collaborative efforts to improve community health. Care Ring has two areas of focus: Access to Care, which includes their Care Ring Clinic, Physicians Reach Out, and Community-Based Care programs; and Maternal-Child Health, which includes their Nurse-Family Partnership and A Guided Journey programs.

Care Ring reached out to Apparo after being denied the nonprofit licensing discount for Microsoft 365. The organization was relocating, growing rapidly, and overdue for a move to Microsoft 365, but a simple misunderstanding led to a long journey. Microsoft had updated its nonprofit eligibility criteria, and the clinic was unexpectedly classified alongside large healthcare systems. That classification made them ineligible for discounted nonprofit licensing, even though they had nearly 70 years of nonprofit history. Without nonprofit pricing, the cost of Microsoft 365 would have doubled annually, constraining growth and limiting the organization’s ability to collaborate securely with health systems and partners. As Rebecca Palmer of Care Ring states, ““We had gotten a hard no from Microsoft. We knew we needed to transition to Microsoft 365, but without nonprofit pricing it was cost prohibitive, especially as we were growing.”

Apparo’s Jennifer Ray collaborated with Care Ring and TechSoup to establish accurate language for describing internal and external programs to meet Microsoft’s requirements. This work included updating website content, educating staff, and revising scripts to align with eligibility standards. At one point, progress was disrupted by a “secret shopper” phone call when staff language did not meet the required criteria, prompting the organization to regroup and refine its approach. As Jennifer explained, “It wasn’t about changing who they were—it was about understanding Microsoft requirements, making small but critical adjustments, and clearly communicating those changes.”

The cost savings unlocked by nonprofit licensing went far beyond software. According to Tchernavia Montgomery of Care Ring, the organization has:

• Increased the number of patients served and quality of service
• Strengthened its brand and credibility with funding partners
• Reinvested savings into hiring key staff, including an internal HR manager

Technology also supported expansion into new services. Following a recent relocation, the organization opened a food pantry and has served more than 2,000 people since March, reaching community members they had never served before. Tchernavia shares, “Operationally, we feel more grounded and stable. We’re finally in the era we’re supposed to be in from a technology perspective. We’re not just accepting the status quo anymore. We’re dreaming a little bit now about what tools can help us do.”

To learn more about Apparo’s Tech Therapy program, visit this link.